The Queen butterfly (*Danaus gilippus*) is a North and South American species in the milkweed butterfly group, with a wingspan of roughly 3 to 3.5 inches, and is a close relative of the Monarch — smaller and a darker chestnut-brown, with black-bordered wings marked by two rows of small white spots and black-veined hindwings underneath. Its caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed and related plants, absorbing toxic compounds that make both larvae and adults distasteful to predators, a defense advertised by their bold warning coloration. Males are notable for elaborate courtship behavior, using hair-pencil organs on their abdomen to brush a seductive pheromone onto a female's antennae during flight. The Queen is a year-round resident of the Deep South and Gulf Coast, ranging from the southern United States through the West Indies, Central America, and south to Argentina, favoring open, sunny habitats like fields, deserts, dunes, and roadsides.